Who We Are

We are the Palestine-solidarity movement at York University. We will not be silenced. We will not waver in the face of administrative crackdowns. We are the YU resistance. We are SAIA.

Mission Statement

We believe Israel is an apartheid state that resembles South African Apartheid.

Palestinian citizens of Israel are denied from controlling and developing over 90 per cent of land because they are Palestinian.

Palestinians expelled in 1948 and 1967 are denied the right to return to their homes and lands, despite the fact that anyone of Jewish background--from anywhere in the world--has the automatic right to become an Israeli citizen.

In the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, Palestinians live under separate and discriminatory military law.

The Canadian government provides extensive political and economic support to Israel. Canadian corporations profit through investments and joint operations with Israeli companies.

Canadian universities invest in corporations involved in Israeli war crimes, and they maintain ties with universities in Israel that are responsible for weapons research and land confiscations.

We believe that justice will not be achieved without equal rights for everyone in the region, regardless of religion, ethnicity or nationality.

We understand Israeli apartheid as one element of a system of global inequality. To this end, we stand in solidarity with all oppressed groups around the world; in particular, the indigenous people of North America. We oppose all forms of racism, sexism, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism and other forms of oppression.

We are committed to secularism and secular democracy.

Our demands are based upon a July 2005 call from over 170 Palestinian organizations in support of a global campaign of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS). See the website of the BDS National Committee to learn more: http://www.bdsmovement.net

BDS should be maintained until Israel meets its obligation to recognize the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination and fully complies with the precepts of international law by

1. Ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands, dismantling the Wall and freeing all Palestinian and Arab political prisoners;

2. Recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality;

and

3. Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN General Assembly resolution 194.

Students Against Israeli Apartheid at York University

Students Against Israeli Apartheid at York University (SAIA York) is part of the global campaign for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against the state of Israel until it complies with its obligations under international law.